The new cooperative and competitive shooter is looking great

Dec 30, 2014 15:07 GMT  ·  By

Next up in our Softpedia Game of the Year 2014 awards is my most expected game of 2015 – Evolve – coming from Turtle Rock Studios and 2K Games for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One platforms on February 10 around the world.

Quite a lot of stellar titles are set to appear in the next 12 months, from blockbuster multi-platform games, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Batman: Arkham Knight, to platform-exclusive experiences, such as Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Halo 5: Guardians, or other such things.

But what I'm mostly looking forward to is an all-new experience that doesn't feature any number or semicolon – Evolve.

The game isn't a sequel or a reboot

Originally set to appear this fall, the title got delayed, which is something that's now becoming admirable, largely due to publishers and developers opting to release games filled with bugs and glitches as fast as possible, and then take a long time releasing updates that make them playable. The best example is Assassin's Creed Unity, which still has issues despite over a month having passed since its release.

Besides the noble decision of Turtle Rock and 2K, Evolve also benefits from a novel premise, which combines cooperative and competitive multiplayer experiences. A team of four players takes control of hunters, which are tasked with trapping and killing a hulking monster. What follows is a race against time, for the monster to grow and become powerful, and for the hunters to find and stop the beast as fast as possible.

I’ve already tried it out

I also got a chance to play Evolve at Gamescom 2014 earlier this year and was quite impressed, both with the monster side of the multiplayer experience and with the hunter one. Both felt pretty powerful, but as always in a multiplayer match, cooperation is key, as monsters can't stand a chance against a well-coordinated team of hunters, and vice versa, as scattered humans are easy targets for the hulking beasts.

The visuals also look very impressive and play a pretty big role in the actual gameplay, as the monster can use them to hide in plain sight, while identifying with relative ease the actual enemies. Hunters can deploy an arsenal of abilities to make their mission easier but it's still going to be tough.

Throw in the offline bots mode, which has just been confirmed by Turtle Rock, not to mention the other surprises it most certainly has in store for fans, and Evolve is shaping up to be one of the biggest titles of the new year and my most expected title of 2015.

Look forward to its launch on PC, PS4, and Xbox One on February 10.

Evolve Screenshots (6 Images)

Evolve is coming soon
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